(Extracts taken from Shichot given by HaRav Avraham Shapiro)
In the time of the Hellenists a decree was imposed upon the
Jews by Antiochus, forbidding them to keep the laws of the Sabbath, the
Rosh Hodesh festivals, and the Brith Milah (circumcision) - Megillat HaHashmonaim,
9, 30, 32). The stated purpose of the edict was to "abolish the Covenant
between G-d and His People by forbidding them to keep its laws." (loc.cit.)
According to the Bach (Rabbi Yoel Sirkish) it was through this edict that
the Jews were chastized by G-d for their negligence in keeping His laws.
And, when the People repented and rose to a level of self-sacrifice ((îñéøú
ðôù in order to worship G-d, they were delivered by the
priests whose duty it was to conduct the worship of G-d in the Temple.
Thus the miracle took place, through the lights of the Menorah, because
the People had fired their souls up to the point of being willing to die
in order to be able to worship G-d as they had been commanded. Therefore
Hannukah was appointed as a time to "praise and be thankful, which
is the worship of the heart". For, self-sacrifice in the effort to
maintain the worship of G-d, makes us worthy of the miracle of Deliverance
(vide Shemot Rabbah, 21:9).
Self-sacrifice does not necessarily mean a willingness to die; rather the
basis of self-sacrifice is not to count the cost, but to be aroused and
live for the fulfillment of the mitzvoth. (vide Brachot, B).
An illustration of one who did not count the cost in fulfilling G-d's will
is found in Tosephtah Brachoth, 84, Hal.16. "Why was Judah found worthy
of kingship? Because he acknowledged Tamar." According to the Sages
this acknowledgment is presaged in the glorification of G-d by Judah's
mother, Leah, upon her son's birth (Bereshith Rabbah, Par' 71). "...and
[Leah] said: 'This time will I praise [odeh] the L-rd.' Therefore she called
his name Judah." (Gen. 29:35) The Hebrew word hodah - äåãä
from which Judah's own name was taken is the root from which the words
for both acknowledgment and confession, and praise and glorification derive.
At first glance there would appear to be no similarity between the "glorification"
of Leah and the "confession" of Judah. But because "calling
his name Judah" was an immediate and decisive implementation of Leah's
inner recognition of the need to thank (lehodot) G-d,it may be compared
to Judah's acknowledgment (hodoath) of the truth, and his bringing
out the truth known to him without counting the cost. Because of this self-sacrifice
in fulfilling G-d's will Judah was found worthy of kingship.
This matter of the Inner Truth which counts no cost, is at the heart of
the War of the Hashmonaim. The first attempt by the Hellenists to breach
the wall of the Torah was made upon the statutes ((çå÷éí,
those laws whose meaning we cannot explain through the use of reason.
But, the miracle of the Menorah, and the kindling of the Hannukah lights
which commemorates it illustrate the illumination and clarity of the Torah
which is the Inner Truth.
This is the meaning of the comment by the Ramah, that there are those who
say that a feast should be made on Hannukah to mark the consecration of
the altar. The question then arises, what is the difference between the
consecration of the altar and the consecration of the Menorah? The explanation
is that the worship connected with the altar is an external worship, and
thus its consecration should be marked by a religious feast, which is also
an external form of worship. But the Menorah is wholly a matter of internal
worship - the worship of the heart. Thus in Shabbat, (22) the point is
made that in the Temple it was the Menorah which was inside the
Holy Chamber, where it could not be seen, which bore witness to the truth
that the Shekinah rests within Israel. For, every revelation of the Hidden
G-d, comes through internal worship - the worship of the heart.
During the time of the Hashmonaim the transition from the epoch of the
prophets to the epoch of the Sages had begun. So too began the disappearance
of the 'great scholars' ((àùëåìåú
"from the days of Moses to the death of Yosef ben Yuazar" (Bereshith
Rabbah, Par'65: vide ibid., 18; Sneh:37; Sukkah (Rashi): 47) whose learning
had been so complete and whole that when a judicial decision was made and
accepted by the majority it was clear that there was no place for dissent
even by other scholars. But when these 'great scholars' were gone the power
of the Torah of the succeeding generations of scholars was not sufficient
to attain this level.
For, apparently, the disappearance of the 'great scholars' was a result
of a diminishment in the degree of Ruah HaKodesh, which had grown less
and less from the time that prophesy had ceased. And before this happened
the levels of prophesy had also grown less and less from generation to
generation (HaRan, Drosh Shmini, beginning). In this connection the Ramban
wrote: "Even though the prophesy of revelation and vision was taken
away from the prophets, the prophesy of the Sages, which is the way of
wisdom, was not taken away but they know the truth through the Ruah HaKodesh
which is within them." (Babbah Batrah: 12)
In Zechariah (4:1-7), a unique occurence is to be found, which does not
recur in any of the other books of the Prophets. The prophet sees a vision
and does not understand what he sees until the angel of the L-rd, explains
its meaning to him. The reason for this is that Zechariah
belonged to that era when the epoch of prophesy was nearing to its end.
The prophetic perception was declining. In contrast, during the time of
the Second Temple, there was a revelation of the glory and splendour of
the Torah, as presented in the books of the Kabbalah.
In the days of the Hellenists, the transition from the way of the prophets
to the way of the Sages began, and in this interim situation the Hellenists
were able to be of influence, and this influence also was a factor in the
disappearance of the 'great scholars'. But, as the Ramban pointed out,
the two ways of the Torah share a mutual foundation, and both are derived
from the inwardness of the Holiness of Israel ((÷ãåùú
éùøàì.
"For the commandment is a lamp, and the teaching is light..."
(Proverbs, 6:23). And this is the meaning of the Hannukah lamp. For light
is a symbol of inwardness, and the brighter the inner understanding, the
greater the success in the fulfillment of G-d's will.
| Archives
| Publications |
Donations | Overseas
program & RegistrationEmail: mercaz@jer1.co.il
This site designed by Avi Kovacs, and hosted by
Get your own Free Home Page!
Comment's about the design? email me at avik@geocities.com
